The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly, Christian Tetteh Badger, has cautioned that an abrupt eviction of traders operating along the N1 highway at Lapaz could worsen their economic hardship.
In an interview with 1960news.com, he revealed that the Assembly has adopted a gradual approach to decongesting the area while working towards the eventual relocation of traders to designated market spaces.
According to Mr Badger, some of the traders have operated at Lapaz for more than two decades and have invested significant amounts of money in their businesses.
Christian Tetteh Badger, MCE, Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly
He explained that immediately removing them from the area without providing alternatives could result in the loss of their investments and livelihoods.
“When we came, we took Lapaz as a project. Myself and the team, including the environmental officer, works engineer, special planning officer and roads engineer, decided to decongest the place,” he said.
The MCE said the Assembly had consequently introduced a temporary arrangement under which traders are not permitted to sell on the pavements from Monday to Thursday but are allowed to operate from Friday to Sunday.
He said the arrangement was intended to give the traders an opportunity to sell their existing stock and gradually adjust to the Assembly’s plans for the area.
Mr Badger stressed that the arrangement should not be interpreted as an endorsement of pavement trading, which he said is not appropriate and would eventually have to end.
He said the Assembly’s approach is aimed at achieving compliance without unnecessarily disrupting the livelihoods of people who had depended on the location for years.
According to the MCE, the arrangement has already resulted in noticeable improvements in traffic flow and reduced congestion along parts of the Lapaz stretch.
He cited the area from Nii Boitown Junction through the Las Palmas frontage to Bigot as an example of where traders had complied with the weekday restrictions.
“Lo and behold, when you check from Nii Boitown Junction all the way to Las Palmas, they don’t sell from Monday to Thursday. Meaning they have complied,” he said.
He explained that the temporary weekend trading arrangement is also intended to enable traders to dispose of stock they had already purchased before transitioning completely to alternative locations.
Mr Badger said the Assembly had also worked with traders to create more space for vehicular movement and parking.
He said the intervention had improved accessibility, allowing vehicles to move more freely through the area than previously.
As part of efforts to improve conditions at Lapaz, the Assembly has also introduced a joint sanitation exercise involving traders and municipal environmental workers.
Mr Badger said the area is swept twice a week, with traders participating alongside municipal officials.
He said he personally has being joining the exercise as part of efforts to encourage residents and traders to take ownership of the cleanliness of their surroundings.
“As a Municipal Chief Executive, you’ll find me in my sweeping gear. We will sweep,” he said.
He commended the traders for responding whenever they were called upon to participate in the exercise.
According to him, the cleaning teams sweep from the Lapaz area towards the Nyamekye traffic light before returning to clean the opposite stretch.
He added that Zoomlion and the Assembly’s own compactor undertake morning and evening waste collection to prevent refuse from accumulating.
Mr Badger said the combination of regular sweeping and waste collection had contributed to a significant improvement in the sanitary conditions at Lapaz.
The MCE said the Assembly’s ultimate objective is to remove all traders from the pavements and outer lanes of major roads once suitable alternative spaces become available.
He said the planned 24-hour economy market would play an important role in accommodating traders currently operating along the N1.
“We have decided and determined that for the next period we find ourselves in this government space, we’ll make sure Lapaz—future plans when the 24-hour economy market is built—obviously all of them will be moved from the pavement,” he stated.
Mr Badger disclosed that there are more than five markets within the municipality with spaces that could potentially accommodate some of the traders.
He also recounted an engagement with a market queen mother who had expressed willingness to help identify spaces within existing markets for traders seeking alternative locations.
“We are allocating some of them to—and we’ll send them also into the market areas. There are over five markets within my jurisdiction. There are spaces,” he said.
He maintained that relocation must be handled carefully because the roadside trading situation had developed over many years.
“Such exercises are 20-year-old consolidation by the people. It requires a gradual process and an acceptance to walk off the street yourself,” he added.
Mr Badger also raised concerns about pedestrians who continue to cross the N1 highway at Lapaz instead of using the footbridge provided for that purpose.
He said the practice posed a serious threat to lives, particularly because the road carries heavy traffic.
According to him, several people have reportedly lost their lives at the location after attempting to cross the highway rather than using the footbridge.
He said the Assembly had engaged individuals to discourage pedestrians from crossing the road at unauthorised points, but some of them had encountered resistance.
Mr Badger recounted an incident in which one of the individuals assisting with the exercise was assaulted by a pedestrian.
“One time, one person beat the gentleman’s back. I had to pay 6 million to send him to the hospital just because he was doing what was right for the people of Ghana,” he said.
He appealed to pedestrians to use the footbridge, stressing that the few minutes saved by taking a shortcut could never justify putting their lives at risk.
“I want to caution those who unfortunately cross along the bridge, that they should be advised to climb the bridge and cross, because their lives are important to the nation,” he stated.
To prevent pedestrians from accessing the highway at unauthorised points, Mr Badger said the Assembly is engaging the road engineer and contractor to extend the existing barricades.
He said the proposed extension would cover the stretch towards the Las Palmas traffic light and would help prevent pedestrians from bypassing the footbridge.
According to him, the Assembly would consider the project for inclusion in its budget once the cost estimates had been submitted.
“We can also barricade the place entirely, so that it becomes a permanent structure for non-compliant people,” he said.
He explained that the intervention would complement the existing footbridge and reduce the temptation for pedestrians to cross the highway directly.
Mr Badger further warned that traders would eventually not be permitted to operate along the N1 once the planned market facilities are completed.
He said the availability of alternative trading spaces would give the Assembly a stronger basis to enforce the ban on roadside trading.
“Nobody will be allowed to sell along the N1. By then, the spaces will be created at the 24-hour economy,” he said.
He said traders would be encouraged to move into designated market areas where they could operate in safer and more organised conditions.
The Okaikwei North MCE also called for a broader approach to sanitation, stressing that municipal authorities alone can not keep Accra clean.
He said residents, traders, businesses, waste management companies and government agencies all have a role to play in preventing the accumulation of waste.
Mr Badger said he recently participated in a sanitation conference at the University of Ghana, Legon, where he advocated a stronger focus on five key areas for Greater Accra.
These include preventing unnecessary waste generation, recovering recyclable materials, enforcing sanitation laws and providing adequate logistics to support effective waste collection.
He said the heavy flooding experienced in Accra on June 29 had exposed weaknesses in the city’s sanitation and drainage systems and should serve as a wake-up call for all stakeholders.
“June 29 has exposed all of us. Never again will we sit down as MMDCEs and my colleagues to ensure that Accra and their municipalities become clean,” he said.
Mr Badger urged residents and traders to comply with sanitation regulations and take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean.
He said sustained cooperation between municipal assemblies, residents, traders and waste management companies would be necessary to achieve a cleaner and safer Accra.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness. The sanitation drive is on. We must all be very much responsible citizens to make sure that Accra and our surroundings are clean,” he added.
By 1960news.com
